The Flame Priest (The Silk & Steel Saga) (59 page)

THE KIRALYNN MONKS

Founded over two thousand years ago by a group of scholars, knights, and wizards, the Kiralynn Order has always presented an enigmatic face to the world, a face that is open yet closed. One hundred years before the start of the War of Wizards the monks withdrew from the southern kingdoms, retreating to their monastery hidden deep in the Southern Mountains. As if erased from the minds of men, the location of the monastery disappeared from the maps of Erdhe. The memory of the Kiralynn monks has slowly faded, becoming little more than legend and myth. Yet select rulers of the southern kingdoms still receive scrolls sealed with the symbol of the Order. History has proven that these scrolls contain an uncanny prescience. Kings ignore the advice of the Order at their own peril.

The symbol of the Kiralynn monks is a Seeing Eye in the palm of an Open Hand. Their seat of power is their mountain monastery. The motto of the Order is “Seek Knowledge, Protect Knowledge, Share Knowledge”.

THE GRAND MASTER
, the leader of the Kiralynn Order, his/her identity is a closely guarded secret

-monks and initiates of the Order:

MASTER RIZEL
, a Master of the Order

MASTER GARTH
, a Master Healer of the Order

BRYCE
, an initiate of the Order, he studied to take his vows to become a monk and a healer but was subsumed by the Mordant’s Awakening, becoming a prisoner in his own mind

MASTER AEROTH
, an ambassador monk sent to the kingdoms of Erdhe

MASTER ZITH
, a Master of the Order, accompanies Kath as one of her companions

-visitors to the monastery:

PRINCESS JORDAN
, a princess of
Navarre
, sent to the monastery for her Wayfaring

DANYA,
a young woman who sought sanctuary in the monastery with her mountain wolf,
BRYX

THE DEEP GREEN

The Deep Green is an ancient power reborn from the ashes of the War of Wizards. Rising from the ruins of a great city, the forest grows with frightening speed. Trees at the heart of the forest are giants, growing to more than thrice the height of normal trees, while the dense tangle of underbrush forms a nearly impenetrable barrier. The forest protects its own, a race of people with golden cat-eyes. Calling themselves the Children of the Green, the cat-eyed people live within the boundaries of the forest in a confederation of clans under the leadership of the Treespeaker.

Outside of the forest, the cat-eyed people are shunned as evil abominations, said to be born from the perverse mating of man with animals. The cat-eyed people are persecuted across the kingdoms of Erdhe, and often put to death by the ‘white-eyes’.

THE TREESPEAKER
, as old as the forest, she is a seer, a witch, the embodiment

of the power of the Green. As the leader of the clans, she wears a cloak of snow-white swan feathers.

-her clan leaders:

CENRIC
, leader of Clan Hemlock, he wears a cloak of peacock feathers

AGATHA
, leader of Clan Aspen, she wears a cloak of blue jay feathers. She leads a faction that opposes dealings with the white-eyes

BRAN
, leader of Clan Ash, he wears a cloak of raven feathers

CAMILA
, leader of Clan Maple, she wears a cloak of orange kestrel feathers and is a member of the faction that opposes dealings with the white-eyes

DEREK
, leader of Clan Redwood, he wears a cloak of red woodpecker feathers and is a member of the faction that opposes dealing with the white-eyes

CONRAD
, leader of Clan Spruce, he wears a cloak of brown thrush feathers

LANA
, leader of Clan Oak, she wears a cloak of golden finch feathers

-her people:

JORAH
 
SILVENWOOD
, a ranger of Clan Cedar

RONAH
, a ranger of Clan Hemlock

JENKS
, a patrol leader of Clan Hemlock

MARTYN
, an attendant to the Treespeaker

 
More books by Karen L Azinger

The Assassin’s Tear -
Explore the medieval kingdoms of Erdhe, raid the tomb of the first emperor of
China
, and unravel the enigma of Dark Space in this collection of fantasy and science fiction tales from the author of
The Silk & Steel Saga.
The two signature stories,
Prophecy’s Twist
and
The Assassin’s Tear,
are set in the fantasy realm of Erdhe.
Prophecy’s Twist
discovers the dark deceit that started the War of Wizards, forever changing the kingdoms of Erdhe.
The Assassin’s Tear
follows the exploits of a petty thief whose ambition leads him to unravel the dark secret of the Mordant’s Citadel.
The Emperor’s Shadow
is an international thriller in the style of Indiana Jones, combining the power of superstition with
archaeology
in a desperate attempt to end World War Three.
A Man’s World
is a post-apocalyptic adventure set in
Australia
where coal miners discover all the rules have changed.
Pieces of the Truth
is a time travel story where a young physicist discovers a forgotten truth. In
Snakes and Ladders,
Lynn Gallant sets out to shatter the glass ceiling by taking a walk to the dark side of
New Orleans
. In
The God Planet,
universal dreams spark a religious frenzy, summoning humanoid kind to the riddle of Dark Space.

The Skeleton King -
The third book of
The Silk & Steel Saga
will be published in May 2012

About the Author

KAREN L. AZINGER
has always loved fantasy fiction, and always hoped that someday she could give back to the genre a little of the joy that reading has always given her. Eight years ago on a hike in the Columbia River Gorge she realized she had enough original ideas to finally write an epic fantasy. She started writing and never stopped.
The Steel Queen
is her first book, born from that hike in the gorge. Before writing, Karen spent over twenty years as an international business strategist, eventually becoming a vice-president for one of the world's largest natural resource companies. She's worked on developing the first gem-quality diamond mine in
Canada
's arctic, on coal seam gas power projects in
Australia
, and on petroleum projects around the world. Having lived in
Australia
for eight years she considers it to be her second home. She's also lived in
Canada
and spent a lot of time in the Canadian arctic. She lives with her husband in
Portland
Oregon
, in a house perched on the edge of the forest. The first four books of
The Silk & Steel Saga
have already been written and she is hard at work on the fifth and final book. The first two books of the saga,
The Steel Queen
and
The Flame Priest
, were published in 2011. The third book,
The Skeleton King,
is expected to be published in May 2012. You can learn more at her website,
www.karenlazinger.com
or at her Facebook page for The Steel Queen.

The Front Cover
artwork was done by the Australian artist, Greg Bridges. Greg’s artwork has appeared on the book covers of many well-known fantasy authors. His cover perfectly captures the Pontifax and the feel of the saga. To see more of his art or to contact Greg, visit his website at
http://www.gregbridges.com/

The Map and the Back Cover
artwork was done by a graphic artist from
Oregon
, Peggy Lowe. Her illustration of the two maps helps to bring the kingdoms of Erdhe to life. Peggy can be contacted at her e-mail address,
[email protected]